Southern University and Head Football Coach Dawson Odums have agreed in principle to a multi-year contract extension that will keep the 2013 SWAC “Coach of the Year” in Baton Rouge through 2017, the school announced Thursday.
Terms of the extension included a three-year extension in addition to the one-year remaining on his contract, at a base salary of $175,000.
Athletics Director Dr. William Broussard is expected to present the contract for final approval at the SU Board of Supervisors meeting in early January 2014.
“I’m pleased to extend this offer to Coach Odums as a commitment to continued student-athlete success at Southern,” said Broussard. “We look forward to continuing to win and win the right way with him at the helm of the program.”
The announcement of Odums’ contract extension comes a day after the one-year anniversary of his introductory press conference naming him head coach in late December 2013.
Odums, who has compiled a 13-9 overall record since taking over as interim coach in 2012, guided Southern to a 9-4 record, capturing the program’s first winning season in three years and punctuated the 2013 season by defeating Jackson State 34-27 in double overtime to claim the school’s first SWAC Championship since 2003.
“First of all, I would like to just take the time out to thank Dr. (William) Broussard for working diligently and making sure this (contract extension) happened,” said Odums.
“I think it is a great step forward. It’s an opportunity for us to continue to try to build a program at Southern. We have some good pieces of the puzzle coming back and I’m just looking forward to continue the work towards that goal.”
A native of Shelby, N.C., Odums is one of only two coaches in Southern football history (Pete Richardson, 1993) who own the distinction of having defeated Grambling State, Jackson State, and Florida A&M in their first season running the program.
This season, Odums matched Richardson’s achievement of winning a SWAC championship in their first full season at Southern.
“I understand what kind of team we have (returning),” Odums added. “I understand that, going forward, this is one of the best places for me to be successful and this is where I wanted to be.”
Odums will address the media Friday at a 10 a.m. press conference on the third floor of the A.W. Mumford Fieldhouse.
Courtesy: Southern University Sports Information
